Machine for clipping hats



3 Sheets-Sheet 2;

T. & W. H. GOLDWELL.

MACHINE FOB QLIPPING HATS, FURS, &c. No. 271 ,42

(N0 Model.)

Patented Jan. 30

N4 PETERS mummy- 5", w:-

(No Model.) 3 Sneets-S'heet 3. T. &W-. H. OOLDWELL.

MACHINE FOR OLIPPING HATS, FURS, 8m.

No. 271,428. Patented Jan.30, 1883.

1'. 0 a f I (REM-G @QZMZZM fl ZAAOMQ UNTTED STATES PATENT Trice.

THOMAS ()OLDWELL AND WILLIAM H. COLDWELL, OF NEW'BURG, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR CLIPPING HATS, FURS,&.0.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 271,423, dated January30, 1883,

Application filed October 26, 1882.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we,lHOMAs OOLDWELL and WM.H. GOLDWELL, of Newburg, in thecounty of Orange, and in the State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forClipping Hats, Furs, 850.; and we do hereby declare tha-t thefollowingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference beinghad totheaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a perspective View of our machine as arranged for use. Fig.2-is a plan view of the upper side of the same, showing one form ofmechanism for holding the hatbody and for causing the same to pass infront of the clipping mechanism. Fig. 3 is a like view of said machine,and shows the holding and feeding mechanism preferably employed, as seenin Fig. l; and Fig. at is a vertical section upon line 00 :r of Fig. 5.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

Ourinvention is more especially intended for use in the clipping ofhat-bodies, but is equally applicable to the dressing of any articlehaving a nap-surface and to furs; but as the principle of operation isthe same in each case it will be a sufficient illustration of saidinvention to show its application to the first named of said articles.

Thedesign of our invention is to enable the hairs or threads which formthe surface of a hat-body to be evenlyand expeditiouslyclipped to auniform length; and to this end said in vention consists principally inthe method employed whereby thehairs or threads are caused to maintain aposition at or near aright angle tothe plane of the cut, substantiallyas and for the purpose hereinafter specified.

It consists, further, in the means employed for cutting or clipping thehairs or thread, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter shown.

It consists, further, in the means employed for holding the hat-body,while being clipped, in position to be operated upon by the cutters,substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

It consists, further, in the means employed for moving the liat-bodyinfront of the cutters,

(No model.)

substantially as and for the purpose hereinaf ter shown and described.

It consists, further, in the means employed for drawing thehat-body,while being operated, up tightly over the bearing cone or bar,substantially as andfor the purpose hereinafter specified.

It consists, further, in the construction of the cutting mechanism,whereby the entire outer face of the hat-body may be clipped at oneoperation, substantially as is hereinafter shown.

It consists, further, in the means employed for causing the nap to liein onedirection, and for preventing bagging of the hat-body while beingclipped, substantially as is hereinafter set forth.

Itconsists, further, in the means employed for adjusting the cutters,substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter shown and described.

It consists,finally,in the machine as awhole, constructed and adapted tooperatein the manner and for the purpose substantially as hereinafterspecified.

In the annexed drawings, A represents a horizontal rectangular frame,which is provided with four legs, B, and furnishes a sup port for theoperative mechanism.

Journaled transversely at a point near one end of the frame A is awiper, (3, consisting of a central portion composed of three spiralradial arms, 0, that at their ends are connected together, and twojournals, c, which are arranged at opposite ends of said arms, and arecontained within suitable bearings, D, that are attached to the upperside of said frame. Said bearings are made horizontally adjustable in aline having a right angle to said journals, while set-screws 61, passinginward through suitable lugs, d, attached to said bearings, enable saidwiper to be adjusted longitudinally. The outline of the central portionof the wiper 0, from one end nearly to its opposite end, is that of astraight cylinder, while at the latter point each arm 0 extends outwardin the form of a curve, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Said wiper is rotatedby means of a shaft, E, which is journaled within suitable bearings atone end of the frame, and is provided at each end with a band-wheel, F,from which a band, Gr, extends to and around a pulley, H, that issecured upon the correspondingjournal, c, of said wiper.

Immediately in front of the wiper O is a stationary cutter, I, which hasin cross-section the form shown in Fi 4, and longitudinallycorrespondsto the line described by the wipers c. The face of saidcutter adjacent to said wiper is vertical and its opposite faceinclined, so as to give to it greater thickness at its lower edge thanat its upper edge. Said upper edge has a downward bevel from said wiperand presents a sharp edge to the impingement of the arms of the latter.

The wiper O is inclosed by a casing, K, at

its upper and lower sides, and in front to within a short distance ofthe upper edge of the cutter I, while at the rear side of said wiper,within said casing, is an exhaust-fan, L, which is driven by means of abelt, I, and pulleys l and I from the shaft E, and causes a constantcurrent of air to pass over the edge of said cutter I into saidcasing,and through the same into a suitable discharge-pipe connectedwith the rear portion thereof.

In front of the cutter I is a bar, M, which in cross-section has theform of a wedge with its point rounded, as shown in Fig. 4, and in planview has such form as to cause its rounded edge to conform to andcorrespond with the .edges of the wiper-arms c and of the said outter IThe bar M is supportedat its outer end by a brace, 11:, and at its innerend is hinged to or upon the frame. The inner end of said brace is alsohinged so that said bar may be turned upward, as hereinafter described.The bar M is intended for use as a bearing over which to stretch ahat-body, and has such length as to enable it to receive the largestsize. Said hat-body is placed over said bar, (the latter being raised,as before described,) with the apex of its cone immediately over thecurved or rounded end of said bar, from which end said hat-body extendsaround the face of said bar in front of the cutting mechanism andoccupies the general position shown by dotted lines of Fig. 3, when, bysetting in motion the wiper O and causing said hat-body to be fed ormoved over said bar, so as to bring every part of the outer face of theformer into suitable position, the nap will be clipped by the action ofsaid cutting mechanism. The current of air moving into the casing Kthrough the opening over the cutter I causes the hairs of the nap to bedrawn horizontally outward over said cutter and to be held in such posi'tion while being acted upon by the clipping mechanism, by which meanseach hair is clipped to a length corresponding to the lengths of theother hairs, and the nap is left with a perfectly uniform and smoothsurface.

In order that bagging of the hat-body may be prevented and the napcaused to lie in one direction, a comb, N, is secured upon suitablesupports above the bar I, with its toothed edge in position to engagewith the upper surface of said hat-body at a point slightly in rear ofthe front edge of said bar. In consequence of said comb, all fullness orbagging of said hatbody in spots is kept in the rear, and it is causedto pass over or around the edge of said bar in asmooth, even manner,rendering practicable the production of a nap having a uniform length.

Should it be desired, bands of unclipped nap may be left for the brim orat other points upon the hat-body by closing the air-opening into thecasing or by removing the wiperarms or cutter at the desired points, andsuch bands will be sharply delined and at their edges will be separatedfrom the clipped surface by clear and perfectly-straight lines. inconsequence of the curved form of the ends of the bearingbar, cutter,and wiper-arms, the apex of the cone of the hat-body is as evenly andperfectly clipped as is any part of the surface, by which means theusual hand-clipping at such point is avoided, and the finished hat iscaused to present a smooth and uniformlytinished surface over its entireexterior.

The hat-body is held in position upon and fed around the bar Iby meansof the followingdescribed mechanism: Journaled within suitable bearingsin rear of the barI are four rollers, which are arranged in pairs, andone pair, 0, placed below and one pair, 0, above the point of said bar,the centers of each pair being in the plane occupied by that portion ofthe hat-body with which they are to engage. The rollers O and O are madetapering, and are arranged upon lines nearly radial to the rounded endof the bar I, the variation from such lines being just sul'licient tocause each pair to produce in the hat-body a tendency to draw downfirmly upon said rounded end. In order that the fabric may be kept tautover said bar, the lower rollers, O, are either made larger than theupper rollers, O, or are caused to rotate with greater speed, it beingonly necessary that the peripheries of said lower rollers should havethe greatest velocity in order to secure the desired result. Thefeedrollers 0 and O of each pair are geared together, and the pairs areconnected by means of an intermediate gear-wheel, I, by whicharrangement they are caused to move simultaneously. A belt-wheel, Q,secured upon the projecting shaft of one of said rollers, and connectedby means of a belt, q, with a pulley, 0, upon the shaft E, enables saidrollers to be driven by the rotation of said shaft.

Any desired means may be employed for raising the feed-rollers andbearing-bar when necessary to place in or remove from position ahat-body; but we preferably make use of two cords or wires, It, whichextend from a footbar, a, upward over suitable fixed hearings orpulleys, S, and have their ends connected with the outer end of saidbearing-bar, the arrangement being such that if said foot-bar isdepressed said bearing-bar and feed-rollers will position.

be raised, while by releasing said foot-bar from pressure said partswill return to their normal If desired, the weight of said rollers andbearing-bar may be wholly or partially counterbalanced by means ofweights'T, suspended from said cords R.

The wiper (J is preferably constructed from cast-iron, and is found topossess great durability and its arms a to maintain sharp, clean edgeswhen brought into contact with the cutter I. In consequence of the openform of said Wiper, the least practicable obstruction to the passage ofair is offered, and the operation of the exhaust-fan is not interferedwith to any appreciable degree.

While the mechanism described for holding and feeding forward thehat-body is preferably employed, other means for effecting the sameresult may be used, if desired.

In Fig. 2 is shown acone, .U, which has such size and shape as to enableit to receive any usual size of hat-body, and has its apex rounded tocorrespond to the curvature of the ends of the iper-arms cand cutter 1.The cone U is secured upon a shaft, which is suitably journaled upon theframe of the machine, and is driven from the shaft E, as in case of therollers O and O. The hat-body is held in place upon said cone byprojecting pins or by any similar means.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of our invention, whatwe claim as new 1s- 1. The method of clipping hat-bodies or otherarticles having a pile or nap surface by causing the heirs to be drawnoutward into a position having a right angle to the body of the fabric,and cutting or clipping the ends of said hairs while in such position,substantially as specified.

2. The method of clipping hat-bodies or other articles having a pile ornap surface, so as to form or leave belts or bands of unclipped orraised hairs, by removing portions of the Wiperarms or cutter orinterposing solid portions of the casing between the same and thematerial being operated upon, substantially as and for the purposeshown.

3. The clipping mechanism described, consisting of the wiper 0, havingradial spiral arms 0, which are each constructed with anoutwardly-curved end, in combination with the stationary cutter I, thatcorresponds in shape to the form of said wiper-arms, and with mechanismfor rotating said wiper, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the clipping mechanism described, the mechanismsubstantially as shown, whereby a current of air is caused to pass fromthe fabric being operated upon toward said clipping mechanism,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

'5. In combination with the clipping mechanism described, the V-shapedbar M, arranged in front of the cutter I, and having its rounded edgeconformed to the line of the edge of said cutter, substantially as andfor the purpose shown.

6. In combination with the holding-bar M, the rollers 0 and 0', arrangedas described, and adapted to move a hat-body around said bar,substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

7. In combination with the holding-bar M,

having a rounded edge, the rollers O and 0,

latter as to cause said hat-body to be drawn closely upon and heldagainst the rounded end of said bar, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

9. In a hat-clipping machine, cutting mechanism, substantially asdescribed, which is adapted to operate simultaneously upon a lineextending from the brim of the hat-bodyaroun'd the center or apex of thesame, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

10. In combination with the bar M and with mechanismfor moving ahat-body continuously around the same, the comb N, arranged to engagewith the outer surface of such hatbody immediately above said bar,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In combination with the wiper (3, provided wit-h radial arms 0, thathave each an outwardly-curved end, and with the stationary cutter I,which has a correspondiugly-curvedend,means,substantiallyasdescribed,whereby said wiper may be adjustedlongitudinally and toward said cutter, substantially as and for thepurpose shown.

12. The hereinbefore-described machine, in which the clipping,nap-raising, holding, and feeding mechanisms are constructed andcombined to operate in the manner and for the purpose substantially asspecified.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands.

THOMAS OOLDWELL. YVM. H. GOLDWELL. Witnesses:

G150. S. PRINDLE, HENRY O. HAZARD. Witnesses as to Wm. H. Ooldwell:

WM. N. MINTY, HENRY B. KNIGHT.

